If you like to have a sweet breakfast, you may have swapped butter and jam for another food, much appreciated by children. But beware: its melting texture and its sweet taste should not make you forget its dangers for health.
The spread, a food that is too greasy and too sweet
Much appreciated by children and older ones, this food is the spread. Whether it is the classic version or the spread El Mordjene, having recently made the buzz on social networks, this product has never been consumed in France so much.
In 2023, 95,000 tonnes of spread were sold in France, all brands combined, according to Statista. But behind its melting taste and its comforting side, the spread hides a much less appetizing reality.
Too sweet, too fatty and often full of additives, it checks all the boxes of the ultra-transformed product. Dr. Arnaud Cocaul, nutritionist interviewed by Yahoo, does not mince his words: for him, it is simply “a nutritional disaster”.
Why the spreads are problematic, according to Dr Cocaul
From a healthy point of view, the expert’s message is clear. Whatever the brand, it is a product to be limited drastically. The specialist even recommends “banning it as much as possible”.
For what ? Due to its palm oil content. Very present in industrial recipes, it contains saturated fatty acids which, consumed in excess, can be harmful to health.
Without forgetting the problem of their texture, conducive to overconsumption. “”It is a melting product, without lamb’s lettuce, so we consume it quickly and without satiety “ he warns. To avoid this, the doctor recommends avoiding large portions and not buying a new pot too quickly, once the previous one is finished.
What are the brands to avoid … or favor?
Obviously, not all marks of spread are created equal. And some are clearly to flee. For Dr Cocaul, Ovomaltine and the Simpl brand by Carrefour are among the worst students in the department. Too sweet, too fatty, or with extension compositions, they combine bad points.
The expert recalls a simple rule to better choose it. “”The longer the list of ingredients, the more suspect “. A simple but effective indication, especially when you know that certain recipes contain up to 15 different components.
Conversely, three references are doing well:
- The Nocciolata, which relies on a more natural composition;
- The good mother, known for her shorter recipes;
- The nussa choco, the Lidl distributor brand, which contains 13 % hazelnuts, a rate much higher than the market average, often less than 2 %.
These products are not perfect, but they remain, according to the expert, “the least worst”.
Do you have to do your dough to spread yourself?
As with many products, the best solution is to make your own spread. “”The best spread is the one you do yourself ” estimates the doctor.
But no need for a complex recipe: melted chocolate, a little fat, and voila. The advantage? No palm oil, no additives, and total control of ingredients. A good compromise between pleasure and health, especially for a product which, let us recall once again, must remain occasional.